Okay, we've talked about it and I went in tonight with camera....Royal Canadian Legion No. 1 on Sargent at Maryland. Canada's first Legion ! <br> <br> I have been by it a million times. Like most Winnipeg drinking establishments it has that un-windowed, unfriendly exterior. I was happily surprised when I went in. The interior was very nice and cozy:<br> <img src=" http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3266/2634945063_73d832a898.jpg?v=0"><br> <img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3144/2634938473_5b84524ea9.jpg?v=0 "><br> <img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3123/2634935589_8348a8b1f7.jpg?v=0 "><br> <img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3135/2635760428_94cf3aef44.jpg?v=0 "><br> <br> And, if you like military history they have lots of it. I guess being the first Legion a lot of old timer donated / sent their memorabilia there to display. <br> <br> <img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3189/2635764338_4d630e5e83.jpg?v=0 "><br> <img src=" http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3027/2635756278_556e596083.jpg?v=0"><br> <img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3133/2634929863_67d4172374.jpg?v=0 "><br> <br> A myth. They are not strict about the member-to-drink policy. When I went to the bar to get my first one the guy jut asked me to sign the register sitting at the bar and that was it. No big deal. I also asked about joining and he said that the rules have been relaxed for many years. You can be a non-voting member with no association at all to the military. (and, as someone who worked for a Minister of Veterans Affairs for a couple of years believe me you DON'T want to be a non-vet and try to have a say in a vets organization or event anyway !!) <br> <br> Beers were $2.50 for happy hour and $2.75 outside of happy hour - bwa-ha-ha - I bought a beer just to pour down the drain because it was that cheap that I could ;-) Bingo at 2 pm Fri (that's the big money game) and Saturday at 2 as well. he said come on down. Beer is cheap and the Friday prize was over $1k !! <br> <br> The people were friendly and nice and, as usual in a Legion, respectful. They had a big screen woo I watched the Hamilton game with about 15 others.<br> <br> One warning: no food. With the Safeway next door (that has pre-made sandwiches) and the pizza by the slice place across the street, though, i just nipped out for a bite while on a smoke break. <br> <br> All in all, two thumbs up. i even ended up joining , the people were so nice - I figure in beer money savings alone I will make the $35 back in a year ;-)<br> <br> <img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3004/2634942135_fbdb1bf173.jpg?v=0 "><br>
Yes, sadly it does not have a web page or really celebrate he fact. The guy seemed pretty used to people coming in to take a peek. the side with the memorabilia on it was closed off but he opened it up for me. <br> <br> From another Legion's site: <I>The British Empire Service League ("BESL") was formed in November 1921. Its main inspiration was Field Marshall Earl Haig, Commander-in-Chief of the British Armies (including the Canadian Corps). He became the first Grand President of the BESL. - In 1923, he became interested in assisting: the unification of the multiple Veterans organizations in Canada. The GWVA acted as the Canadian voice of the BESL. <br> <br> A Unity Conference was held in Winnipeg on November 25, 1925. From this conference emerged "The Canadian Legion of the BESL", commonly referred to as "The Canadian Legion". The word "Royal" was not added to the name until 1960, signifying recognition of the Queen. </I>
Yeah, even when I tired to google it to add to my 'This Day In Winnipeg History" thing....there was no fuss, not real mention of it here. A couple of Legions in other provinces make passing reference to it but not in enough detail to get a date of opening etc.
Fanstic photos, thanks for doing that! Maybe I will pop in. I had heard from someone that the people he saw hanging out there seemed a little "rough"... not sure exactly what he meant but maybe he went at a bad time. Plus it's not nice to judge people based on appearances is it?! So I will go check it out, maybe bring the guy who made the comment with me :)
my ex g/f and I used to go drink at the Legion in St.B and we would play ballroom blitz on the jukebox repeatedly to see if anyone would notice it being played 10 times in a row...nobody seemed to notice and everyone was super friendly.
we would pregame there before going down the street for amature night....crazy days
Some questions re: membership mrc (and good on 'ya for the discovery!). Is $35 lifetime or annual? Do you get any benefits? ...as you allude to making it up in beer. Could you imagine a discount for beer? Now THAT is a way to get the membership rate up :)
The $35 is an annual fee. The main benefit I get as a member is a copy of the Legion magazine. <p> A frequent beer drinker card would be a nice touch. Buy 9, get the 10th one free.
<blockquote><cite>Posted By: Zwikster</cite>...and we would play ballroom blitz on the jukebox repeatedly to see if anyone would notice it being played 10 times in a row...</blockquote>
We once did that at the Polo Park Inn back in the early 90's, except we played "Don't Worry, Be Happy" ten or so times in a row.
<blockquote><cite>Posted By: FreakyGirl</cite>Wow, I just noticed MrC said the bingo pot was over 1K! Maybe I'll become a Bingo player!</blockquote> Yes, Friday 2pm is the big money game ! Saturday at 2pm is a smaller pot. <br>
<blockquote><cite>Posted By: StBPegger</cite>Some questions re: membership mrc (and good on 'ya for the discovery!). Is $35 lifetime or annual? Do you get any benefits? ...as you allude to making it up in beer. Could you imagine a discount for beer? Now THAT is a way to get the membership rate up :)</blockquote> For the 35, yeah, you get the Magazine and no hassle entry to the legion for $2.50 beer ! The $35 also goes to support the organization. Like with any club you can get as involved as you want as far as community service. I checked off a couple of the boxes and might put in some time. The least I can do for what they've done in the past.
There you go again MrC, putting your damn money where your mouth is...
Acocrding to http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WMY37 , Regina was the first branch in Canada to be issued a charter. It's not an official Legion page, but I couldn't find a comprehensive list of branch/post numbers on http://www.legion.ca. It seems to me that every province and territory has a Legion No 1, such as that one in Regina, and I think the No 1 Branch in Alberta is in downtown Calgary.
I tired to google info, not a lot on it. I remember that it was the 'first legion' from back in my Vets Affairs days so it's not something the guy made up when I was there.<br> <br> It was a commonwealth soldiers club for a while then they amalgamated all of these "one off" clubs into something else and that group ended up becoming the legion so it might make sense that if this was the first of a national organization that it wouldn't really have a charter but others would. Sort of like the first restaurant in a chain wouldn't need a franchisee agreement but the others that spun off from it would. If I find more info I will post it.
<blockquote><cite>Posted By: mrchristian</cite>Saturday at 2pm is a smaller pot.</blockquote>Quite a progressive place. Pot on Saturdays. $2.20 beer. I'm surprised the place is not jam-packed everyday.
$2.50 - I made a typo ! I am surprised too. Given that the street was so packed for Euro2008, if I were them I would have made the place the official non-Portuguese / Italian place to go. It would have been neat to have everyone together. I guess, though, with a lot of these groups, it's probably the same half dozen people who do everything so any promo stuff they'd want to do means they'd have to do it themselves. It does grind you down after a while. <br> <br> I was saying in another post about the Lord Roberts Legion on Osborne. They were, at the time I got the tour 8 or so years ago, the fastest growing in the country. Got a manager in there who promod the place for outside events to the community, had a kids movie nights so mom and dad could visit and leave the kids downstairs. It can be done.
Yes the legion s are great places to go play pool or darts and have a quiet drink without having to shout at the rest of the table over the noise called music.
Yes, they're always civilized ! This does have a little jukebox in the corner and 4 dartboards. Biggish screen tv in the corner and the obligatory shuffleboard table (must be some Royal decree or something that every vets organization must have one !)